Congress leader Raj Babbar on Tuesday denied that he had resigned from the post of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief. “I do not know from where this rumour is doing the rounds,” Babbar told ANI in the evening. “In any case all of us in the Congress are party workers. Our posts and positions are symbolic.”
India Today had reported that Babbar submitted his resignation on Tuesday, but Congress President Rahul Gandhi had not yet accepted it.
“I was sent here with a special task,” Babbar told reporters according to News18. “I have worked as much as I could have. My performance must have been good and bad at times. I do not want to comment anymore, let the party leadership decide my performance.”
Goa Congress leader Shantaram Naik quit as president of the state unit on Tuesday. Naik said he wanted to make way for a “young and committed” leader.
According to media reports, former Union minister Jitin Prasad, former Congress MP Rajesh Mishra and former Congress MLA Lalitesh Tripathi are likely to be considered for the UP chief’s post.
Babbar had been appointed the party chief for Uttar Pradesh in July 2016 ahead of the Assembly elections in the state in March 2017. Babbar joined the Congress in 2008 after leaving the state’s ruling Samajwadi Party. He is a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand.
After the Congress performed poorly in the Assembly elections, Babbar had offered to resign as the state president.
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